[dennisw]

Dennis your logical and realistic foreignpolicywise... why are you a drug warrior?

Any nation that legalizes narcotics becomes a stupid nation and loses it's will to defend itself. What are narcotics? Is this just about legal marijuana? How about you tell me? Do you favor legal heroin, crack, methedrine etc.?

[weikel]

Marijuana makes people stupid who don 't value their intelligence and will never apply themselves anyway( generally of course I know a really smart pothead who it doesn't seem to have any f****** effect on, he gets straight A's in all his computer science classes it doesn't seem to make him any dumber). Harder drugs are just a good filter for the gene pool.

[Imal]

Any nation that legalizes narcotics becomes a stupid nation and loses it's will to defend itself.

That's an interesting observation. Which nations are you talking about? When has this happened?

Is the U.S. smarter now than it was when basically all drugs were legal?

[pariah]

What are narcotics?

Basically, opiates. Marijuana is not a narcotic, and its so-called addictive or habit-forming properties can in no way be compared to those of narcotics, or even tobacco, in terms of severity, duration or recidivism rate.

Is this just about legal marijuana?

It should be. Other 'drugs', legal and illegal, need to be debated on their own terms, imo.

Do you favor legal heroin, crack, methedrine etc.?

Take it easy, this is not about turning Main Street into a shooting gallery. It's about whether the known properties (both dangers and benefits) of marijuana justify its continued demonization and persecution. Will legalization result in more or less crime, make law enforcement easier or more difficult? I don't buy blanket pro-drug legalization arguments (Libertarian-style), but on practical grounds, marijuana ought to be treated more like aspirin and less like heroin. Everyday, kids in America are faced with a thousand temptations more serious than legalized marijuana would pose.